Orphnebius alesi, Assing, V., 2010

Assing, V., 2010, Two new species and additional records of Lomechusini from the Palaearctic region (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 42 (2), pp. 1093-1104 : 1096-1098

Orphnebius alesi nov.sp. ( Figs 1-8 , 25 )

T y p e m a t e r i a l: Holotype: " China: N-Yunnan, Nujiang Lisu Aut. Pr., Gongshan Co., Gaoligong Shan , creek valley 17 km N Gongshan, 27°54.41'N, 98°39.55'E, 1525-1600 m, 20. VI.05, A. Smetana [C168] / Holotypus Orphnebius alesi sp. n. det. V. Assing 2009" (cAss).

D e s c r i p t i o n: Body length 4.3 mm. Habitus as in Fig. 1 . Coloration: forebody blackish-brown; abdomen bright pale-reddish; legs reddish-brown; antennae with antennomeres I-V pale-reddish, VI-VIII gradually infuscate, and IX-XI dark-brown.

Head ( Fig. 2 ) distinctly transverse, approximately 1.35 times as wide as long, posteriorly vertically sloping ventrad towards neck, but not angulate; eyes conspicuously large and bulging, occupying all of lateral portion of head and extending to posterior margin; posterior angles completely obsolete; neck approximately 0.25 times as wide as head; punctation extremely fine and sparse, fine punctures present only in lateral and posterior portion of dorsal surface; median dorsal area impunctate; microsculpture absent. Antenna weakly asymmetric; antennomeres IV approximately as long as wide, V weakly transverse; VI-X of increasing width and increasingly transverse; IX-X approximately twice as wide as long or nearly so; XI slighly longer than combined length of VIII-X ( Fig. 3 ).

Pronotum ( Fig. 2 ) rather strongly convex in cross-section, moderately transverse, 1.3 times as wide as long and 1.15 times as wide as head; posterior angles weakly marked; disc impunctate, punctation present only at margins; lateral margins with three long black setae on approximately 1/4 the length of pronotum, two of them in anterior half and one in posterior half.

Elytra posteriorly approximately 1.55 times as wide, and at suture approximately 0.85 times as long as pronotum, distinctly widened posteriad ( Fig. 2 ); punctation very sparse

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and fine; microsculpture absent; pubescence suberect, long, and whitish. Hind wings fully developed. Legs long and slender; metatarsomere I approximately as long as combined length of II-III.

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Abdomen ( Fig. 4 ) wedge-shaped, widest at segment III, gradually and distinctly tapering posteriad; integument without microsculpture; paratergites of segments III-VI sharply edged and strongly elevated; tergites III-VI impunctate except for four setiferous punctures at posterior margins of tergites; tergite VII, except for portion near anterior and posterior margins, with oblong puncture-like sculpture, near posterior margin with few short setae; posterior margin of tergite VII with distinct palisade fringe; tergite VIII impunctate, except for two rows of submarginal and marginal punctures bearing black setae ( Fig. 5 ).

: sternite VIII as in Fig. 6 ; segments IX-X modified, with dense and long black pubescence; median lobe of aedeagus 0.62 mm long, with slender and apically acute ventral process ( Figs 7-8 ); paramere with condylite apically tapering, not reaching apex of paramerite; paramerite apically narrow ( Fig. 25 ).

: unknown.

E t y m o l o g y: This species is dedicated to Aleš Smetana in appreciation of his lifelong dedication to the taxonomy of Staphylinidae and also in gratitude for the generous gift of the holotype.

C o m p a r a t i v e n o t e s: Based on external features (chaetotaxy of pronotum, asymmetric antennae, morphology and chaetotaxy of abdomen, distinctly bicoloured body) and sexual characters (modifications of male segments IX-X, morphology of median lobe of aedeagus, shape of paramere), O. alesi undoubtedly belongs to the O. hauseri group. Seven species of this group were previously known from China ( ASSING 2006a, 2006b, 2009). The new species is distinguished from all of them particularly by the distinctive shapes of the median lobe of the aedeagus and the paramere. The only Chinese representative of the O. hauseri group with similarly large eyes is O. conicornis , which is additionally separated from O. alesi by the much more transverse pronotum, the much more slender antennae with weakly transverse antennomeres VI-X, and the bicoloured elytra. For illustrations of the external and sexual characters of the previously known Orphnebius species from China see ASSING (2006a, 2006b, 2009).

D i s t r i b u t i o n a n d b i o n o m i c s: The type locality is situated in the Gaoligong Shan, northern Yunnan, China. The holotype was sifted from fallen leaves and other debris accumulated at the based of a vertical wall in a stream valley at an altitude of 1525-1600 m (SMETANA pers. comm.)

Figures

Figs 1-8: Orphnebius alesi nov.sp. (holotype): (1) habitus; (2) forebody; (3) antenna; (4) abdomen; (5) male tergite VIII; (6) male sternite VIII; (7-8) median lobe of aedeagus in lateral and in ventral view. Scale bars: 1: 1.0 mm; 2-6: 0.5 mm; 7-8: 0.2 mm.

Figs 20-25: Orphnebius draco nov.sp. (20-24; 20: holotype) and O. alesi nov.sp. (holotype) (25): (20-21) median lobe of aedeagus in lateral view; (22) median lobe of aedeagus in ventral view; (23, 25) paramere; (24) spermatheca. Scale bars: 0.2 mm.